The Yellow House in ReadingGroupGuides.com

Mar 22, 2010 Stacie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: sad-t

I got this book back in 2010 when I won it from a blog. Unfortunately, I didn't keep track where I won it from though. Since then it has been sitting on my To Read shelf, patiently waiting. Then a few weeks ago, I saw it listed as the Kindle Deal of the Day for $2.99. I had recently started a mini book club with two of my friends and since they both have Kindle Fires, I thought this would be the perfect book for us to read. So THE YELLOW HOUSE got bumped to the top of my reading list just like t I got this book back in 2010 when I won it from a blog. Unfortunately, I didn't keep track where I won it from though. Since then it has been sitting on my To Read shelf, patiently waiting. Then a few weeks ago, I saw it listed as the Kindle Deal of the Day for $2.99. I had recently started a mini book club with two of my friends and since they both have Kindle Fires, I thought this would be the perfect book for us to read. So THE YELLOW HOUSE got bumped to the top of my reading list just like that!
As you know, I LOVE Historical Fiction and this book gave me plenty of it. I love reading books and learning about parts of history that I never even knew happened. Since I grew up and have always lived in America, I had very little knowledge of the political and religious uprisings that occurred in Ireland. This was another book that gave me a greater appreciation for the country and era that I grew up in.
The story was also filled with family secrets and struggles that I think most of us can relate to. Eileen and her family loved each other deeply, were hard working, but also had a bit of the past that prevented them from moving forward. Some of the twists in the story were expected but others made me drop the book and gasp in surprise. You also can't have a story without a little romance and the author kept the love lives in the story interesting!
If you would have been eavesdropping while I was reading this novel, you would have heard laughter, gasps, sniffles, and even a few sobs. This novel kept you focused and interested. All the characters were easily imaginable and Eileen was someone I would have loved to have been friends with as well as been afraid to cross! She definitely made life interesting! This would be a great choice for book clubs as there are a lot of topics worthy of discussing including: family loyalty, politics, religion, war, friendship, love, dreams, values, grief, and parenting. This book has it all.
Another thing I loved about this book was that it was the author's first novel. It thrills me to find a new author and then to fall in love with their first novel. I'm always excited to hear of their next novel. Since it took me so long to read this one, Falvey has already come out with her second novel, THE LINEN QUEEN, which is also set in Ireland and has been added to my To Read list. Falvey is also working on her third novel. ...more

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Mar 06, 2012 Serena rated it it was amazing

The Yellow House by Patricia Falvey, which is her first novel, is an incredible, sweeping novel set in Ireland during the beginning of the nation’s struggle for freedom from Britain, the rise of the IRA, and WWI. Eileen O’Neill, our heroine, comes from a long line of warriors or so her Da tells her, and she revels in his folklore and his stories about how the O’Neills stole back the yellow house from the Sheridans who had once stole it from them. The dynamics of the family often mirror the polit ...more

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